23 February 2008

Blame it on the Samba

To say I was excited when my wife presented me with a copy of The Aristocats a few weeks ago would be an understatement. I have, over the past few years, become a fan of Disney animated features that are not, shall we say, giants among men. Features like Fox and the Hound, The Rescuers, Sword and the Stone, and The Aristocats all fall into this category, and they all have perfect moments in them that are fun and worth savoring time and again. However, this was not the end to my surprise.

The little booklet of advertisements that seems to be a permanent installation in the Disney animated features these days held an even larger surprise, Saludos Amigos and The Three Caballeros are coming to DVD on April 29, 2008. While I have seen these films before, it has been a number of years and I am excited to see what kind of treatment they are given for this release. While I could go on about these titles, I thought it would be best to give you some weekend reading and viewing that cover these topics far more extensively than I could ever do. Foxxfur, from Passport to Dreams, has delved deep into these films, and has come out the other side with some fascinating insights you should take notice of. As well, Rob Richards, of Animation Backgrounds, has a few gems from both Saludos Amigos and The Three Caballeros to sit in awe of.